Good DAC in the $500 to $1,000 range
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Hi Amir:
I am late to this relatively low cost DAC discussion party, but I would recommend an April Music Stello DA100S that I had been using for the last two to three years. Several years ago, I tried to help April Music but had to change due to my scheudle demads...in the process, I had met and spoke to David (in Atlanta) and his business partner Jim Spainhour (in Chapel Hill NC) many times to sign them up as April Music US distributor. They have business arrangement with Definitive Audio and shares wearhouse in Bellevue. The deal didn't work out but they had high regards for the AM Aura Note all-in-one CD receiver (just got picked as TAS Editors choice in March '11 issue) and the DA100S DAC. I can't remember the list price but DA100S is less than $1000. The new US distributor is May Audio in Upstate NY. AM will come out with a new DA100S-USB that will interface to PC directly for 24/96 rate as well.
You can borrow mine when I go on next trip to hear the DAC for yourself.
Ki
I am late to this relatively low cost DAC discussion party, but I would recommend an April Music Stello DA100S that I had been using for the last two to three years. Several years ago, I tried to help April Music but had to change due to my scheudle demads...in the process, I had met and spoke to David (in Atlanta) and his business partner Jim Spainhour (in Chapel Hill NC) many times to sign them up as April Music US distributor. They have business arrangement with Definitive Audio and shares wearhouse in Bellevue. The deal didn't work out but they had high regards for the AM Aura Note all-in-one CD receiver (just got picked as TAS Editors choice in March '11 issue) and the DA100S DAC. I can't remember the list price but DA100S is less than $1000. The new US distributor is May Audio in Upstate NY. AM will come out with a new DA100S-USB that will interface to PC directly for 24/96 rate as well.
You can borrow mine when I go on next trip to hear the DAC for yourself.
Ki
Thanks Ki. Much appreciated. I might take you up on that offer!
Meanwhile we got an evaluation unit from Peachtree. It was not iDac but the Nova:
I must say, the unit in person feels much better than the image. It weighs a ton. The paint is very well done. It has nice touches like motorized volume control.
I expected very little but was pleasantly surprised. The little amp+DAC sounds very good. Better than it has any right to be at this price. I was driving it with a USB to S/PDIF converter. Hope to test it direct with USB soon.
Hooked up to a pair of Revel M22 and Paradigm Studio 20, it provided very nice fidelity and plenty loud. I did leave the tube off (it is controllable via remote). It added distortion and nothing else to my ear.
More on this later as I analyze it more. But so far, so good!
Meanwhile we got an evaluation unit from Peachtree. It was not iDac but the Nova:
I must say, the unit in person feels much better than the image. It weighs a ton. The paint is very well done. It has nice touches like motorized volume control.
I expected very little but was pleasantly surprised. The little amp+DAC sounds very good. Better than it has any right to be at this price. I was driving it with a USB to S/PDIF converter. Hope to test it direct with USB soon.
Hooked up to a pair of Revel M22 and Paradigm Studio 20, it provided very nice fidelity and plenty loud. I did leave the tube off (it is controllable via remote). It added distortion and nothing else to my ear.
More on this later as I analyze it more. But so far, so good!
Burn that tube in Amir, lots of new tubes are noisy the first few hours, some times two hours is enough for distortion to drop a whole lot. Good a time as any to learn about the full feature set right? 
garylkoh
WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Burn that tube in Amir, lots of new tubes are noisy the first few hours, some times two hours is enough for distortion to drop a whole lot. Good a time as any to learn about the full feature set right?
+1
Bruce B
WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Hahahahaha! Wait a minute. I was all Madrigal from front end to speakers and now have a tube in everything except my digital gear. Uh-oh. There is a precedent!
Thanks for the advice guys. Didn't realize the burn in requirement for the tube. That is very good to know. I just thought it was a cheap Chinese tube and just didn't perform.
And yes, I plan to replace the CPU on my PC with a tube one. I understand it will then be as good as a "Mac"!
Didn't realize the burn in requirement for the tube. That is very good to know. I just thought it was a cheap Chinese tube and just didn't perform.And yes, I plan to replace the CPU on my PC with a tube one. I understand it will then be as good as a "Mac"!
Amir, Steve Jobs here.. That idea is already patented. The new tube Imac 1 is on the drawing board. You Sir, will be hearing from my lawyers
garylkoh
WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Be careful what you ask for..... be very careful
This was made by Acer Computers in the early 2000's and optimized for Jazz and Classical music:
http://www.freeopenbook.com/upgrading-repairing-pc/ch16lev1sec7.html
Steve williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
I saw 2 Novas liast night
I was in a friend's home for a board meeting last night and spied a Peachtree Nova in the living room. I inquired and the owner waxed eloquent about it. He took me upstairs to show me another Nova hooked up to his computer.
He liked the value the Nova represented.
Bill
I was in a friend's home for a board meeting last night and spied a Peachtree Nova in the living room. I inquired and the owner waxed eloquent about it. He took me upstairs to show me another Nova hooked up to his computer.
He liked the value the Nova represented.
Bill
opinions on the Nova and other things
I did not get a chance to listen to my friend's system Wednesday night. I would like to listen to the Nova though.
My opinion on the Peachtree and innovation in audio gear:
I saw the initial articles announcing the Nova. The addition of the tube with a window to show it off was a complete turn-off for me. it suggested to me that the company was not focused on quality engineering but on trendy gimmicks.
My friend does not churn through "flavor of the month" gear. He was buying a cost effective solution that he could use for years. He doesn't have a tall equipment rack with separate boxes for every function and would not have a place for such a rack. I think that products that consolidate the necessary functions into a few boxes will be attractive to an audience like my friend who are not hard core audiophiles. Other examples of that kind of product include
- Tim's AVI ADM 9.1 active speakers with power amp, DAC, preamp and remote volume control functions integrated with the speakers. I can see the attraction of such a solution in my library where appearance matters, I no longer want lots of boxes and I'm 8-12 feet from the volume control on my pre-amp.
- My AudioEngine A5s with power amp, volume control and two inputs integrated into the speakers. In my home office, I connect the analog output from two PCs to the A5. Both inputs are always active so I don't have to switch between my MusicPC for playing music from my collection and my personal PC for listening to youTube audio. The A5s also go into a low power standby mode which means that I don't have to turn them on and off. In a near field application, having a physical volume control an arm's length away is the natural way to control volume. It all feels right.
- Pro-audio active monitors seem to provide part of the function needed. Integrating the amp function is a big win, especially in a near field application. However, they usually have a volume control on each speaker rather than a stereo volume control.
- Sonos wireless networked music player. I've seen reports form audio system installers that the Sonos systems "just walk out of here" without much sales effort. Good user interface, small boxes and few hassles seems to have given Sonos some success.
I think that manufacturers that can package audio functions in innovative and cost effective ways and work out the ease of use issues can find a big market beyond the dwindling core of audiophiles.
Bill
I did not get a chance to listen to my friend's system Wednesday night. I would like to listen to the Nova though.
My opinion on the Peachtree and innovation in audio gear:
I saw the initial articles announcing the Nova. The addition of the tube with a window to show it off was a complete turn-off for me. it suggested to me that the company was not focused on quality engineering but on trendy gimmicks.
My friend does not churn through "flavor of the month" gear. He was buying a cost effective solution that he could use for years. He doesn't have a tall equipment rack with separate boxes for every function and would not have a place for such a rack. I think that products that consolidate the necessary functions into a few boxes will be attractive to an audience like my friend who are not hard core audiophiles. Other examples of that kind of product include
- Tim's AVI ADM 9.1 active speakers with power amp, DAC, preamp and remote volume control functions integrated with the speakers. I can see the attraction of such a solution in my library where appearance matters, I no longer want lots of boxes and I'm 8-12 feet from the volume control on my pre-amp.
- My AudioEngine A5s with power amp, volume control and two inputs integrated into the speakers. In my home office, I connect the analog output from two PCs to the A5. Both inputs are always active so I don't have to switch between my MusicPC for playing music from my collection and my personal PC for listening to youTube audio. The A5s also go into a low power standby mode which means that I don't have to turn them on and off. In a near field application, having a physical volume control an arm's length away is the natural way to control volume. It all feels right.
- Pro-audio active monitors seem to provide part of the function needed. Integrating the amp function is a big win, especially in a near field application. However, they usually have a volume control on each speaker rather than a stereo volume control.
- Sonos wireless networked music player. I've seen reports form audio system installers that the Sonos systems "just walk out of here" without much sales effort. Good user interface, small boxes and few hassles seems to have given Sonos some success.
I think that manufacturers that can package audio functions in innovative and cost effective ways and work out the ease of use issues can find a big market beyond the dwindling core of audiophiles.
Bill
Glad to see you are already having luck Amir. I like the Peachtree gear but then again I live in a city where every other street is named Peachtree.
Me too. It sounded like they wanted to appeal to people by the look of the tube, as opposed to the sound of the tube.
I am also a fan of active speakers in that setting and have enjoyed the same for 10 years now. Have done that with Genelecs/NHT and Mark Levison DAC but always needed a pre-amp to control volume. I am now a big fan of DACs with volume controls with balanced output driving pro active speakers.
That's why it is nice to have the volume control in the DAC.
They are that. Unfortunately they have been stubborn and don't support WMA Lossless so for me personally, my Sonos is sitting gathering dust. For our customers though, it does work.
FYI, while at Microsoft we helped them port WMA Lossless to Sonos but they would refuse the ship it. Reason? Their CPU was not fast enough to play it and at the same time, capture analog data and digitize it! Now tell me how many people try that combination. So the code never shipped
.Indeed. Companies are so slow to see the trends here. The right functionality for PC playback is not always the same as standard transports. Fortunately there is progress being made.
Amir, very interesting comments about Sonos and WMA lossless. I belief Sonos also has no plans to permit hi-rez streaming. Real shame.
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